Review

Self-criticism can sometimes be destructive; maybe you find the faults that hold you down and succumb to them, leading to stumbling and eventual defeat. Obviously, bands sometime take this approach, Crime in Stereo re-evaluated their sound and while the idea itself seemed solid on paper, it eventually lead to their downfall. But sometimes self-criticism can help a band immensely. When Such Gold first came into the scene, their first EP Stand Tall had all the right ideas and was brimming with youthful enthusiasm that bands in their particular genre must carry in order to get anywhere. However, Stand Tall was plagued by redundancy and that notable ‘hook’ that pop punk needs in order to keep a listener interested. Sure, it was infectiously catchy and had enough harmonies and head-bobbing material, but it just didn’t have the replay value that bands like Four Year Strong or Marathon have. Compounded by the fact that Stand Tall was basically a collection of ‘Mutiny’-era Set Your Goals B-sides, Such Gold needed to rethink their approach to music a bit more and have it more thought out for their next release.

Now the year is 2010 we see Such Gold having reformed their sound and have released their second EP Pedestals. I’ll cut to the chase and say this, Pedestals is a major improvement from their previous releases. When I say that they have reformed their sound, I don’t mean it by saying "Oh, they’ve completely switched genres" no, they still firmly fall under pop-punk melodic hardcore. So for any original haters of Such Gold, sorry, but you’re still gonna hate them after Pedestals, don’t get me wrong. Pedestals does see Such Gold refining their sound in subtle ways that help them differentiate themselves from the genre and, most importantly, Set Your Goals. Opening track ‘Cut Rides’ is proof that Such Gold no longer wish to be compared to other similar bands, as the track is nearly twice as fast as any of their previous material. Final track ‘Pedestals’ see’s Such Gold final starting to find a niche in the genre, as it features them embracing more of their punk roots and it more akin to old timers Strike Anywhere and Strung Out. The ending itself is chaotic for the genre and extremely heavy by pop-punk standards.

In reality, Pedestals is just a taste of what Such Gold can do. While they have yet to release a full length, it makes the listener anxious for more and hopefully, with fingers crossed, Such Gold will finally break the veil of obscurity and become one of the leaders of the current melodic hardcore genre. While still not enough to fully overtake other bands that are currently leading the pack, Such Gold have successfully self-critiqued their previous mistakes that have plagued their older material and their future seems a bit brighter than it did last year.